Indoor football: ’Necks QB unloads weeks of frustration on Wild

The smile on the face of Odessa Roughnecks quarterback Dennis Gile said it all.

Gile, under pressure to improve his game, had just led his team to a 57-38 victory over the Alaska Wild in an Intense Football League game on Saturday night at Ector County Coliseum, and his final line warranted the ear-to-ear grin.

Gile completed 13-of-26 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Just as important was the zero under the interceptions column after throwing 20 interceptions in his six previous starts.

"I can't tell you how much weight has been lifted off my shoulders," Gile said while signing autographs on the field after the game. "I just had to slow everything down and stop thinking so much and make the plays that were there in front of me. It was getting to the point where I thought I had to try do everything on every play, and that's not how this team works. We took what Alaska gave us and were able to go up and down the field."

Making the improvement that much better was the fact that Gile was working with his fourth center of the season. Fred Thrweatt moved from nose guard to the offensive line because of the absence of Sean Parker.

The first series was a learning process for both, but DeWayne Hogan scored on a 12-yard run to cap a 35-yard drive on Odessa's first possession.

When the offense took the field for the second time, Gile and Thrweatt were working in sync.

"The coaching staff asked me if I would move to center to help the team," Thrweatt said. "That first series was mental for me and getting use to playing the position. But I wanted to step up to the challenge and get the job done. I have a new respect for this position."

Odessa coach Chris Williams liked the balance in the offense as the unit produced four touchdowns on the ground, two scores through the air, and one touchdown on a return of a missed field goal by Jimmy Conner. Permian graduate Ryan Havens made three field goals, including a 56-yarder with 55 seconds left in the first half.

"It's the first step," Williams said of snapping the team's three-game losing streak. "I thought Dennis did a good job out there of not trying to force things and moving the offense."

Still, Williams knows that there is room for improvement.

"This was a team victory because Alaska has been putting some points up on the board in recent games, so I was happy with both sides of the football," he said. "Now, we just have to build on that for next week against Louisiana."

Odessa will have to build quickly because the Roughnecks will face unbeaten Louisiana in Lake Charles, La., on May 24.

"This was a good victory for us, and there is nowhere to go but up," Thrweatt said.